Possibly the worst episode of detective drama this year.

I think writers of Dexter and the last season of Monk have a new home.

Starting a scene with the end of a clever anecdote that is just a series of non-sequiturs is possibly the slackest form of writing possible. Okay if you known Classic Holmes you get the inside joke but if not... It's like when you join a scene at a diner table on the last line of a joke and everyone falls around laughing. It's meant to show that the joke tell is amazingly convivial... what it actually says is the writers aren't competent enough to actually write something that proves it. Everyone is diminished by it.

Almost as bad was the opener with a basic reversal so painfully obvious it was impossible to care.

They desperately want Holmes to be everything his namesake was and again they prove their incompetence when he admonishes Watson for not knowing him better when stating something that again the writers have never shown us. It's painful writing that they seem oblivious to what it says of the quality and integrity of the plot.

Elementary aims low and is consistently average, with lil peaks and troughs that make or break the episode.

Another example is when Holmes cleverly works out a DEA agent undercover by his tattoo's and use of a bucket.. pretty clever stuff until he uses it to blackmail him, that's the opposite of clever and worse still it had no impact on the cases and is immediately forgotten. Utterly pointless filler that they couldn't even use to sell Holmes' talent. Yes it's comes back later but in such a disjointed way that the original scene remains redundant.

Then we have Holmes' ex-drug supplier caught with drugs in his house. He is confronted and promises not to talk about drugs with Holmes. Next scene he talks to Holmes about drugs and for no good or organic reason.. he just does it.

Just when you thought they couldn't get any lazier they pull the severed finger of the victim in a box plot. What happens next is possibly the stupidest idea I've ever seen in a so called detective show in years. Since CSI started criminals have gotten wise to DNA and fibres, this criminal basically tattooed his location on the finger worse still the writers double back and say that all that info was actually useless. WHAT? Oh and it gets better, the criminal turns out to be police. :|

Just to pad out time they again reuse idea of clean shoes betraying a disguise. How many times!

So the crux of the episode was that through anecdotes we get told that Holmes is amazing when on drugs (no proof or examples at all, just told) and his old friend is there to tell us this. The demons of a clean Holmes really speaks to the cleaning up of the detective from the opium smoker of old, they want a tortured hero (in the style of House or even Monk or the chick in Bron) as all detectives now have to have a disability, but not one who is a drug user.. oh no.. not on TV.. we can't love/respect an active drug user as a hero.

The scene at the police station was utterly baffling to me. It was apparently exposition to get a confession but the cops reveal that they already know where the girl is (one of 3 or at worst 5 buildings) and that if the girl is alive she is the only evidence against him. That makes no sense at all, they offer him a worthless deal that could be redundant in less than an hour.

Enough is enough.

Best moment: The comedy foley sound of Holmes' footsteps running upstairs at the start like a tapdancer.

Not Elementary, My Dears...

Calling this one of the best episodes is ridiculous. Why? Here goes (spoilers)...

You consider a stepfather who raised his daughter, and was getting financial help from her, told she has been kidnapped and is then dismissed and left standing there never to be seen gain good television??? If you were him, WOULD YOU NOT GO TO THE POLICE??? Oh, by the way, let's not tell him she would be killed, if he did, thereby giving him incentive not to! How about if he went and tagged along to help find her? Maybe he could have interacted with real father, Hannah, in an important way? At the very least, have him with the daughter at the end, even in the hospital hallway, before she went in to visit Hannah in his room.

How about the finger? Would it have been possible to save it for reattachment? Watson, if I remember correctly, IS A DOCTOR! Checking the viability of the finger for such a purpose would have been nice to see, and if not, so be it, but if so, STERILIZE AND GET IT ON ICE or something! It's not the 1800's anymore. You may have up to 12 hours to do this successfully.

For a show about a character obsessing over detailed facts to solve a mystery, this is inexcusable. Shows that fail to follow through on established precedents are what helps kill them. It's sad when writers don't get that, and worse when viewers don't either, allowing the show to successfully continue despite making these awful mistakes, particularly for one based on Sherlock Holmes.

A Giant Gun, Filled With Drugs

A Giant Gun, Filled With Drugs was another exceptional episode of Elementary. I really enjoyed watching because there was a lot of significant character development for both Holmes and Watson. The story was in gauging and very entertaining. It it was great to see all of the conflict Sherlock faced has he tried to help someone from his past who could yet destroy his sobriety. I like holike how everything played out and they certainly look forward to watching what happens next!!!!!!!!!

Drugs, drugs, drugs

I still feel like they're relying too heavily on the drug-element of this version of Sherlock Holmes, but this episode was far from the worst example. The case was something different - what a concept, people coming to Holmes instead of the police - and was a bit more personal. I really thought we would finally catch a glimpse of Mycroft in this episode, but CBS doesn't seem to want to give us anything other than the names of the important people. I liked that they solidified Sherlock's devotion to kicking drugs, but it doesn't really get us any further along in the story. And again, where was Clyde? Has he been banished to the roof with the bees?

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